Archives for June 2009

cappuccino muffins

06/02/2009 By

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I apologize for being a Debbie downer, but I just wasn’t feeling this month’s Tuesdays with Dorie choices. Apples and cinnamon scream fall and winter to me, peaches won’t be ripe for another month, and two more celebration cakes? Really?

But it’s okay. I’m sure I’ll find something to enjoy about each one. I’ve made three already, and so far, so good.

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The cinnamon cake really does look great, with its tender base, layer of cinnamon, and swirls of chocolate frosting. But I thought if I could cheat by skipping the frosting and reducing the chocolate in the filling, and get something closer to a muffin than a cake, then I could give them to Dave as a morning snack, freeing me up for another dessert recipe I was eager to make last week.

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It wasn’t too far of a stretch, since the cake batter was mixed like a muffin – the dry and wet ingredients are mixed separately before being combined. Half of the batter is spread into a pan, a mixture of espresso powder, sugar, and cinnamon is sprinkled over the batter, then some chopped chocolate, and then the remaining batter. Dorie gives a cappuccino version of the recipe as well, where more espresso powder is mixed into the batter, and I made that variation in an effort to make this feel even less like a winter treat.

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I was very happy with the result. The muffins were light and tender, with an interesting mix of flavors from the espresso, cinnamon, and chocolate. They’re certainly no replacement for our weekend cappuccino habit, but it’s not a bad substitute for a workday.

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Tracey chose this recipe for Tuesdays with Dorie and has the recipe posted. I halved the chocolate in the filling, only used about 2/3 of the cinnamon sugar mixture, made the version with extra espresso, skipped the frosting, and baked the cake in muffin tins (use 12 for a full recipe) instead of a cake pan.

One year ago: Crockpot Pulled Pork

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Filed Under: bread, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, quick bread, tuesdays with dorie

anadama bread

06/01/2009 By

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It’s a good thing I had well-behaved friends for the most part in high school, because I am apparently highly susceptible to peer pressure. A new baking group has recently been formed, somewhat similar to Tuesday with Dorie, but baking their way through Peter Reinhart’s Bread Baker’s Apprentice. I resisted joining the group for a few weeks, because I really don’t need another baking obligation. But I’ve had this book for years and love it, plus if this group can improve my bread-baking skills as much as TWD has improved my dessert-baking skills, it’ll be worth it. And when I heard that Reinhart supported the group, I made the decision to join. I’m a sucker for cookbook authors who support blogs.

I had some trouble figuring out how to fit a new baking group into my blog. I can only produce 3-4 blog entries per week, and I’d like the majority to be unaffiliated with a group. I think I’ve decided on short, simple (I’m doing something simply?!) entries with one photo and a brief analysis of the recipe. Since I joined the group a few weeks after it started, I’m doing a bit of catch up.

Anadama bread is a sandwich bread made with cornmeal and molasses. Reinhart’s MO is to soak grains and/or ferment dough slowly to release as much flavor from them as possible. In this recipe, that means soaking the cornmeal overnight before kneading in the remaining ingredients and continuing with rising and shaping. Reinhart recommends coarser-grained polenta over cornmeal, and it smelled particularly corny after soaking, which was nice.

Overall, this was a nice bread. The texture was very light. I definitely think it needs more salt (the recipe calls for 1.5 teaspoons for 20 ounces of flour; I’ll add at least 2 teaspoons next time). Also, the polenta grains didn’t soften in the bread as much as I would like, adding a crunchiness, but not a good crunchiness. I’ll use regular cornmeal next time. Or I might just stick to the last anadama bread recipe I tried, but adjust the method to soak the cornmeal overnight.

True to most groups who cook their way through a cookbook, we won’t all be posting the recipes. However, Michelle plans to post the recipes on her blog.

Filed Under: book review, bread, Bread Baker's Apprentice, freezer friendly, yeast bread
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